Do you fall fast to sleep when your head hits the pillow at the end of your day? Do you sleep soundly through the night? When your eyes open at the beginning of your day do you feel well rested and alert?

Or perhaps are you like the many people who struggle to fall into deep sleep? Or those who struggle to stay asleep? Do you identify with the sluggish feeling of dragging yourself out of bed in the morning, feeling like you have not slept a wink?

If you don’t identify with any of these, then you have mastered the art of satisfying and soothing sleep. You are a rare breed and have what many others try to attain by resorting to an abundance of different and often expensive techniques. These techniques include a variety of suggestions of pills, drugs, and techniques.

With just a few simple changes, you will find that sleep comes easier than ever!

1) Watch What You Eat

It all begins in the early evening. This is when what you consume will start to affect your ability to fall asleep. If you eat foods high in stimulants, you may watch the hours of the clock tick by with little to no ability of quieting yourself into sleep submission.

Most people know to avoid stimulants (although very few avoid white sugar as well and understand that it is a stimulant), but are lacking the second part of this concept. The second part is to avoid eating at least 2 hours prior to going to bed. The importance of this extends all through the night as you sleep. When we eat shortly before bed our bodies are forced to expend energy on digestion. This in turn prevents us from getting the full benefits of our precious sleep!

Take a few minutes to journal any thoughts that are dancing through your mind when you get into bed. This will open a direct path to a mind ready for rest. This technique is especially helpful for those who experience a busy mind when trying to sleep. This tool is highly effective for all ages. When kids are too young to write, you can write their thoughts for them.

SLEEP ACTION STEP: Get a notebook and pen or pencil by your bed and journal whatever thoughts are on your mind for a few minutes to clear your mind and allow yourself to fall asleep much more quickly.

4) Self-Massage to Fall Asleep

One of the easiest gifts we can give ourselves is massage. There are 7,200 nerve endings in our feet which link to our entire body. Taking a few minutes to massage our feet can significantly increase relaxation and induce deep satisfying sleep.

SLEEP ACTION STEP: Rub your own feet or have your partner rub your feet for a few minutes before bed to stimulate relaxation in your nervous system.

5) Breathing Exercises to Fall Asleep

Implementing belly breathing when we cuddle into bed is a very effective way to calm the mind and body while also nourishing all your cells!

This is a simple technique to learn: Place one hand on your lower abdomen and the other on your chest. When inhaling, picture a balloon expanding and fill your lower abdomen first. Then fill your chest and hold the breath for a few seconds. Expanding your abdomen first with your chest following is the goal.

When exhaling, fully release all the air in your lungs and then slowly continue to exhale even when you think your lungs are empty. Often times a great deal of stale air remains in the lungs. Removing stale air frees up space for the next nourishing inhale. The art of belly breathing will aid in falling asleep as well as helping the body stay in a deep sleep through the night.

Belly breathing like this has been shown to have dramatic physiological changes including deep relaxation, calmness of mind and better sleep.

SLEEP ACTION STEP: Practice belly breathing before going to sleep (you can do it while you massage yourself or journal).

All of these sleep inducing techniques will help to ease you into a sleep that continues deep through the night. When we get quality sleep, we are generally more alert and ready for our day. However, if you want to give your body a gentle jump start in the morning as well, you can implement the massage you did the night before. By doing this, all those 7,200 nerve endings that connect from your feet to your entire body are given a smooth start to the day. You can also massage your hands and ears as they too have a tremendous amount of nerve endings. Waking our children up with massage helps to ease them into their day and teaches them a great skill.

By taking the time to implement a routine that is conducive to quality sleep, people fall asleep quicker and also sleep deeper. This leads to an easier time getting up in the morning. Quality sleep enriches lives. When our bodies get the rest needed during the night, our health improves, our energy increases and we achieve an overall better sense of well being.

Getting good, quality sleep is one of the most important things we can do for our health. Don’t leave it to chance! Implement these 5 techniques for falling asleep fast right now and you will be glad you did.

Tom Corson-Knowles and this website do not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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